FLEET: Centre for Future Low-Energy Electronics Technologies

11/11/2024

When does a conductor not conduct? Switching a star-shaped 2D material for future low-energy electronics, new paper from Monash University out this month in Nature Portfolio Communications.

Benjamin Lowe and team found they could switch the 2D kagome metal-organic material 'on' (ie, cause it to become electrically conductive) and 'off' (Mott insulator) by controlling the population of electrons... the key to the on/off binary operations of classical computing.

Read more at https://www.fleet.org.au/blog/when-does-a-conductor-not-conduct-switching-a-2d-metal-organic-framework-from-an-insulator-to-a-metal/

08/10/2024

FLEET is proud to lead the way in developing advanced science and technology for a sustainable future in information technology. Our team has developed the topological transistor, which the semiconductor industry recognises as a promising alternative to silicon technology. We have also synthesised innovative few-atom-thick materials with significant potential for catalysis and carbon capture applications.

In addition to its technological advancements, FLEET has dedicated its effort to building a diverse workforce and enhancing research capacity in advanced quantum materials while promoting equity and diversity within materials research.

Inviting you to visit the FLEET Legacy Website and explore the Centre’s Impact Report at https://www.fleet.org.au.

26/09/2024

The boundary between solid metal and liquid metal can be much less solid than we thought.

RMIT researchers discovered the liquid-solid boundary can fluctuate back and forth, with metal atoms near surface breaking free from the crystal lattice.

Read more: https://www.fleet.org.au/blog/surfaces-on-the-move-dynamic-liquefaction/

The exciting new fundamental discovery has potential application ultimately where-ever metal alloys are utilised.

17/09/2024

Did FLEET outreach achieve our strategic goals? The short answer is yes.

Over the years, FLEET has conducted a variety of outreach events with schools and the general public. Centre outreach coordinator Jason Major evaluated events using pre- and post-evaluation methods to understand the impact of the event relative to our strategic goals.

2021-23 evaluation reports are public on the FLEET outreach impact page - https://www.fleet.org.au/blog/fleet-outreach-impact/

12/09/2024

Monash University researchers have revealed an elegant new, widely-applicable theoretical approach towards characterising intrinsic magnetic second-order topological insulators, with potential use in spintronics.

Read more at: https://www.fleet.org.au/blog/fleet-researchers-unveil-new-approach-to-magnetic-topological-insulators/

Or read the paper at https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/acs.nanolett.4c03109

Led by Dr Zhao Liu and Prof Nikhil Medhekar, Monash Engineering Materials Science and Engineering.

12/09/2024

We love the iconic FLEET logo, and so do our members, who've enjoyed wearing it on hoodies, T-shirts and face stickers, working it into scientific experiments, and outreach apparatus.

What’s the secret of designing a great logo? For us, it was involving a large team, being clear about what we wanted to do, and why, and iterating back and forward until we found something we loved.

+ finally, not being too 'precious' about it…

We've never enforced our branding document (which lays out logo colours, minimum dimensions, fonts, placement on page, etc…) Thus our members have felt free to animate the electrons, etch nanoscale FLEET logos on 2D materials, build mobius-shaped outreach tools, and of course Jared’s shoes… We've loved every one of these corruptions of the branding rules — they demonstrate that our people feel like FLEET people.

For the story of how we got from pencilled outlines and vague ideas to design brief and finished product, see https://fleet.org.au/blog/the-fleet-branding-journey/

11/09/2024

A Monash University-led FLEET team has demonstrated that the breakdown in topological protection in quantum insulators is caused by magnetic disorder.

"By overcoming magnetic disorder and thus exploiting the quantum insulators’ unique properties, the study paves a clear research pathway towards use of these materials in future, low-energy topological electronics,” says lead author PhD candidate Qile Li (Monash Science, Monash Physics and Astronomy).

Read more at https://www.fleet.org.au/blog/overcoming-magnetic-disorder-towards-low-energy-topological-electronics/

Or, read the paper "Imaging the breakdown and restoration of topological protection in magnetic topological insulator MnBi2Te4" in Wiley Advanced Materials at https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/adma.202312004 (DOI 10.1002/adma.202312004)

09/09/2024

New open-source software developed by Julian Ceddia at Monash Physics and Astronomy aims to significantly streamline the study of materials using Scanning Tunnelling Microscopes.

Read more: https://www.fleet.org.au/blog/scanbot-streamlining-materials-research-with-stm-automation/

'Scanbot' automates the time-consuming probe optimisation and data acquisition processes essential for STM experiments, and will help accelerate 2D materials research—enabling detailed investigation after the STM tip has been automatically optimised and sharpened.

“We hope that Scanbot will benefit STM labs around the world—a step towards full automation of STM experiments," says A/Prof Agustin Schiffrin also at Monash Science.

See documentation at https://new-horizons-spm.github.io/scanbot/

And read "Scanbot: An STM Automation Bot" https://joss.theoj.org/papers/10.21105/joss.06028 DOI: 10.21105/joss.06028

30/08/2024

I am incredibly grateful for the opportunity to serve as an industry mentor through the IMNIS program, where I've witnessed my mentees grow in confidence and confidently navigate their PhD journeys with assurance. Being part of IMNIS allows me to contribute to a talented pipeline in STEM and inspire future generations to make significant contributions in their fields. Read the magazine here:https://www.atse.org.au/media/gdtbzwfx/impact-217-240807-low-res-for-web.pdf

21/08/2024

Next Wednesday August 28 at 3PM (AEST), A/Prof. Pavel Jelinek (Fyzikální ústav Akademie věd ČR, Czech Academy of Sciences) will present a talk on strongly correlated π-magnets driven by e-ph and e-e interaction.

Connect at https://www.fleet.org.au/blog/events/aust-eu-colloquiumeu-aust-colloquium-strongly-correlated-pi-magnets-driven-by-e-ph-and-e-e-interaction/

The Transpacific US-Australia Colloquium continues in 2024, presenting novel developments in condensed matter and cold atomic physics, enriching connections between international physics communities.

See all the talks at https://www.fleet.org.au/blog/us-australia-condensed-matter-cold-atoms-colloquia-series/

15/08/2024

Examining spin gapless semiconductors (SGSs), a fascinating class of quantum materials with potential application in low-energy electronics.

New review study by Dr Muhammad Nadeem and Prof Xiaolin Wang at the UOW Innovation Campus.

SGSs act like a bridge between magnetic half-metals and magnetic semiconductors and are promising candidate materials for realising room-temperature quantum anomalous Hall effect (QAHE)

Read more at https://www.fleet.org.au/blog/spin-gapless-semiconductors-pioneering-future-of-quantum-materials-and-quantum-technologies/

Or read the review paper at Advanced materials https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/adma.202402503

'Quantum materials' are solid-state systems whose quantum effects on the microscopic electronic states give rise to exotic, useful properties at the macroscopic scale, such as topological materials and superconductors.

15/08/2024